


I (Don't) Know It's Over

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-01-01
Updated: 2006-01-01
Packaged: 2018-10-27 17:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10813578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Harry can't change what's already happened.





	I (Don't) Know It's Over

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes: For [30 minute fics](http://www.livejournal.com/community/30minutefics)' Time Turner Challenge.  


* * *

One

He sneaks into the Department of Mysteries easily enough. Of course, they haven't beefed up their security system and, sarcastically, he states his purpose to the telephone booth at the Visitor's Entrance. 

Only the merest hint of surprise flashes in his eyes when it dispenses the badge, exactly mimicking his instructions -- _Harry Potter: Stealing Time Turners_. 

The way memorised, due to bad dreams and reliving _that night_ over and over, he makes his way to the Department. A page ripped from a textbook shows him the one he wants -- one for days, instead of hours. This may possibly get him sent to Azkaban. 

He doesn't care. 

Two

The first try is a bit of a misstep, one that causes even more grief than the initial event. He turns and turns, estimating sixty days. God, has it been sixty days since Sirius had di...left him? 

Unfortunately for Harry, he lines up the hours perfectly. He gets there in the nick of time, only to watch Remus clutch his sixty-days-ago self around the middle and sees Sirius fall through the Veil. 

Again. Oh, _again_. 

Three

Harry finds mourning twice as hard when it has to be done twice. Three days later, he gets up the nerve to try again, this time going back sixty-four days, giving him one day in Muggle London before he has to be ready. He hides in the Veil room, ignoring the whispers from beyond and, once it begins, ignoring the battle that rages around him. 

He ignores Ron giggling and choking as a brain circles his neck. He ignores the unconscious forms of his friends. He just hides and waits, preparing. When Bellatrix Lestrange shoots a bolt of red, he stands and yells, "Watch out, Sirius!" Harry runs away before anyone else can see. 

When he returns, nothing feels different. 

He remembers. Rather, he doesn't remember. There's no yelling in his memory. Nobody heard him. Sirius fell through the veil anyway. Too late again. Harry crumples to the floor of his bedroom and doesn't move for hours and hours, preferring instead to stare into space. 

Four

Another week. This time, he goes to Hogwarts instead of the Ministry, hoping to tell his past self that it's all a trap. Instead, he's caught by members of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad. Draco Malfoy, still feeling the effects of Ginny's Bat Bogey Curse, takes particular delight in trapping him. 

Sirius falls through the veil, exactly on schedule. 

Five

Harry, worn and haggard, doesn't cry, hardly moves. Hermione finds the Time Turner clutched in his hands and remembers the articles frantically discussing the breach in the Ministry. 

Tentatively, she rubs her friend's hand. "Harry, are you all right?" 

"So many times. Too many. Never works. He always dies. _He always dies._ " Harry mutters under his breath and draws his knees up to his chin. Hermione tries to ignore his rocking back and forth. 

"I'm sorry," Hermione says softly, understanding. Death is final and no amount of time can change that. 


End file.
